Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment cuts 80 jobs in company-wide restructuring

New Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment president Keith Pelley speaks at a news conference in Toronto on Friday, May 10, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

TORONTO — Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is cutting 80 jobs, with a number of vacant positions also impacted under a company-wide restructuring.

The cuts affect some 10 percent of the sports-entertainment conglomerate, which has just under 1,000 full-time employees.

In a memo to staff Tuesday morning, part of which was obtained by The Canadian Press, MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley called it “an extremely difficult day.”

Pelley, who took over as head of MLSE last April, said he had been tasked with assessing the company “to strongly position MLSE for success, not only in today’s shifting business environment but for future growth.

“As part of that goal, over the last several months, we have conducted a comprehensive exercise across the organization to analyze the company’s entire operation,” the memo said. “The analysis clearly identified a need for greater efficiency within the company to fully optimize our resources and capabilities.

“This has required us to carefully review our organizational structure and business operations to ensure we are set up for long-term sustainability and continued growth. As a result, the company has made the difficult decision to undergo a restructuring that will reduce our full-time salaried workforce using a combination of vacant and eliminated roles, effective today.”

MLSE owns the NHL’s Maple Leafs, NBA’s Raptors, MLS’s Toronto FC, CFL’s Argonauts and AHL’s Marlies.

Asked about the cuts, an M-L-S-E spokesman said the restructuring aims to “address inefficiencies and optimize its resources and capabilities to best meet the demands of the evolving climate.”

“MLSE’s commitment to being recognized as the preeminent sports and entertainment organization globally is unwavering, as is our appreciation for the contributions of those employees impacted by today’s restructuring,” he added.

Rogers announced in September it was purchasing Bell’s 37.5 per cent share of MLSE for $4.7 billion, giving it 75 per cent ownership of the sports giant. MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum, via his holding company Kilmer Sports Inc., owns the other 25 per cent stake.

OMERS, a Canadian pension fund, purchased a five per cent indirect stake in MLSE in the summer of 2023 through a 20 per cent direct stake in Kilmer Sports for US$400 million.

While there is never a good time for job losses, Tuesday’s cuts come as Toronto FC sits its highest-paid player in an attempt to convince him to leave.

Italian star Lorenzo Insigne, whose US$15.4-million salary ranked second only to Miami’s Lionel Messi in Major League Soccer last season, did not dress for either of TFC’s first two games this season.

The MLSE news also came on a day when U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on a threat to impose tariffs on Canada.

MLSE, like other Canadian NHL teams, has to balance taking in Canadian dollars while paying its players in U.S. dollars.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2025.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press

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